The Kansas City Chiefs have gone from owning the No. 1 pick of the 2013 draft to being the NFL's last unbeaten club. But will they really be a Super Bowl contender come playoff time? A high-ranking scout for another NFL team agreed to break down the Chiefs on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons. Here are seven thoughts on the 7-0 Chiefs:

Scout's take: "They mix it up. They start a guy in one place, and he ends up blitzing from someplace else. They make it look like they're bringing the house, and then they bail out. If you can get after the passer, that covers up a whole lot of other things."

2. The corners aren't strong

Eric Berry heads a strong group at safety. But the cornerbacks looked mortal when Houston Texans rookie quarterback Case Keenum extended plays with his feet and connected on off-schedule throws down the field.

Sean Smith, signed after four seasons with the Miami Dolphins, is a big, physical press corner. He has outplayed holdover Brandon Flowers on the other side.

Scout's take: "The corners are going to get exposed. I've always liked Flowers. Smith — I love the physical package. But I think there are plays to be made on them. If the rush can't get home, I think you can light them up."

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3. Charles is dominating

The offense runs through running back Jamaal Charles, who has 171 touches and is among the NFL's leaders with 898 yards from scrimmage.

He is in his sixth NFL season but just 26. He's a relatively anonymous star, despite playing like a more physical version of Chris Johnson behind a serviceable offensive line.

Scout's take: "He's a lot like (Johnson) in the sense that, man, you get a crease and they can take it in the house. When (Charles) gets into open field, he's hard to tackle, because he can set you up and he can cut back and he's got great vision and then he's got the speed."

4. Win with Smith

Alex Smith finally found a team willing to commit to him. He's smart, more athletic than he's given credit for and precise in the short passing game. He's also a game manager in the best sense of the term.

But Smith has been inefficient this season by his standards — a 58% completion rate, a 79.2 passer rating and four interceptions, including a brutal one against the Texans.

Scout's take: "He's never been a real good down-the-field, vertical passer. He's always been the same guy. He's a short-ball, high-percentage type passer. You can win a championship with Alex Smith, I think. He does a good job of getting the guys lined up, operating the offense, and as long as he doesn't try to get outside of himself, he's got the ability to win."

5. Receivers aren't helping

One factor in the Chiefs' passing struggles is their dearth of weapons on the perimeter.

Dwayne Bowe has No. 1-type talent, size and physicality, but he's inconsistent. Donnie Avery is a vertical speed threat who's been invisible in all but two games. Dexter McCluster is a hybrid receiver-running back who needs manufactured touches. A.J. Jenkins has been a non-factor.

Scout's take: "If you get Bowe to establish himself going down the stretch, that would help. You just need McCluster or Avery to really come up big and make plays for you."

6. Knowledge is power

Coach Andy Reid arrived with a clear plan built on creating takeaways with an aggressive scheme on defense and avoiding giveaways with a ball-control offense.

Players speak in glowing terms about Reid's assistants, too. His winning background yielded a rapid buy-in, and his consistent message of mental toughness seems to have resonated in the locker room.

Scout's take: "When you hire a proven winner like Reid, he's got the whole year planned out in his head from start to finish. That's not even an issue. It's just a matter of plugging the guys in and running his scheme and getting better."

7. So how good are they?

The scout said he had the Chiefs pegged as an 8-8 or a 9-7 team on paper coming into the season. The big question is what happens as they face better foes and eventually get into shootouts.

They've scored 28 points or more twice, against the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants, and caught breaks on the opponents' injury front. Sunday's game against Jason Campbell and the Cleveland Browns will be their third in four weeks against a backup quarterback.

Still ahead: two games with the division rival Denver Broncos and one with the Indianapolis Colts, who knocked the Broncos from the unbeaten ranks last weekend.

Scout's take: "I didn't think that they'd go from zero to 100. I didn't think they'd go from worst team to Super Bowl contender. I don't think anybody thought that. But you could see that they had the talent and that you'd come in with an established coach that knows what he's doing and no real learning curve. When you look at a team that has a really good defense and a really good pass rush, I think that they have an opportunity to go far."

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